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What's your sweet spot for sleep?

Posted on 10/27/22 at 6:56 am
Posted by Loup
Ferriday
Member since Apr 2019
15733 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 6:56 am
I cut back on daily drinking (went from having a few drinks every day to 2 or 3 beers on the weekend) and while my sleep quality is better it's made it harder for me to fall asleep. I'd bee shooting for 8 hours (lay down at about 7:45, wake up at around 4:15) and I'd been having to take a lot of Benadryl or melatonin to help fall asleep. I'd wake up feeling hungover and groggy. This week I stopped taking sleep aids to see what would happen. I don't fall asleep until 9 or 930 but I'm still up at 4:15. I'm feeling way more energetic and I'm not draggin' arse for half the morning. Is this because I'm going in to deeper sleep cycles when not taking anything?
Posted by olemissfan26
MS
Member since Apr 2012
6835 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 7:05 am to
quote:

Is this because I'm going in to deeper sleep cycles when not taking anything?


Yes
Posted by whiskey over ice
Member since Sep 2020
3691 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 7:36 am to
8-9 hours lately
Posted by bamaguy17
Member since Jul 2022
1247 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 8:17 am to
Taking melatonin makes me feel groggy all day. I take it anyway because I have always had trouble sleeping, even as a kid. I would rather feel groggy with 6-7 hours of sleep vs 4-5.
Posted by pwejr88
Red Stick
Member since Apr 2007
37610 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 10:20 am to
7-8 hours.
Asleep by 10-10:30, up at 6:15-6:30.
Sleep aids make me feel groggy also. Took a while to get it down but it’s nice now. A box fan was a game changer.

Also this surprisingly works like a charm.
Posted by TigerAlum93
Member since Sep 2010
3237 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 10:30 am to
Establish a nightly routine that down regulates you, quiets the mind, prepares the body. Make the room dark as possible. Colder temperatures help too. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time every night. Some find white noise to help like box fans. Just a few things that come to mind.
Posted by Loup
Ferriday
Member since Apr 2019
15733 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 10:39 am to
quote:

Also this surprisingly works like a charm.


I'll give this a shot. I'm usually in bed the same time every night but per what you linked I'm waking up towards the end of a sleep cycle.
Posted by Irregardless
Member since Nov 2021
2237 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 11:11 am to
quote:

I'm waking up towards the end of a sleep cycle.


These vary. My watch tracks sleep cycles and mine are not consistent. There are general patterns but nothing close to exact.
Posted by lsutigerelizabeth
Houma
Member since May 2022
1304 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 3:18 pm to
I’ve been using ear plugs and a face mask to great success
Posted by calcotron
Member since Nov 2007
10117 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 5:13 pm to
I work out just about every day, and on days where I get lazy I don't sleep as well. 8 hours is what I aim for, typical work night that's 9 to 5. There are other factors for good sleep, like what I ate or if I drank (worse with wine, for instance). Also if I'm not clean I can't sleep anymore. Didn't used to be like that. I have to clean my damn feet before getting into bed or I hate the way it feels.
Posted by pwejr88
Red Stick
Member since Apr 2007
37610 posts
Posted on 10/27/22 at 5:52 pm to
quote:

I'm usually in bed the same time every night but per what you linked I'm waking up towards the end of a sleep cycle.


This was me. I’ll be dang if it doesn’t work and made me feel so much better.
Posted by pilsnerpusher
Member since Sep 2009
1427 posts
Posted on 10/28/22 at 5:36 am to
For me the key is in waking up when I've cycled back up to stage 1 or 2 of my sleep cycle. Each cycle lasts around 3.5 hours. So if I sleep 6.5 to 7 hours I've cycled through twice. If I go to 5 hours or 8 hours I'm going to be waking up from stage 3 or 4 and feel groggy for most of the morning. As a kid, it was ideal to cycle through 3 times: 9.5 to 10 hours. That's 3 rounds of REM and 3 rounds of hgh getting dumped into my system. Now, unless I missed sleep for a night or 2, 2 cycles is enough.

Edit to add that alcohol screws it all up because its a depressant. it depresses the brains ability to communicate with itself and gets in the way of cycling into deeper sleep. So I'll stay in a lighter stage until my body has processed the alcohol.
This post was edited on 10/28/22 at 5:39 am
Posted by Junky
Louisiana
Member since Oct 2005
9083 posts
Posted on 10/28/22 at 6:10 am to
I’ve found that quality over quantity is for me. I don’t get but 5.5-6 hrs a night and sometimes that sucks, but I go to bed completely and absolutely exhausted most nights. If I get 7 hrs my body feels extremely refreshed.

I’m trying to increase the hrs, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen.
Posted by TheFlyingDrogbas
Baton Rouge
Member since Jul 2010
317 posts
Posted on 10/28/22 at 1:32 pm to
If you don't have a sound machine I would highly recommend trying one. I use a pink noise sound via Spotify on my phone and I don't know if I could sleep without it anymore. I use to sleep really poorly this time of year when the A/C isn't running as much. The sound machine has helped so much with that.
Posted by MurpheyJT
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Sep 2006
76 posts
Posted on 10/28/22 at 9:39 pm to
Read up on Sleep Restriction Therapy. Basically, you go into slight sleep deprivation where your sleep efficiency becomes greater than 85%, then add time in bed by 15 min increments. It sucks when you first start, but it works.
Posted by litenin
Houston
Member since Mar 2016
2658 posts
Posted on 10/29/22 at 7:31 am to
I heard a few months ago that most adults under the age of 70 operate best with 7 hours. I still try to get 8 but good to know that only 7 is necessary for most.
Posted by Yeti_Chaser
Member since Nov 2017
11806 posts
Posted on 10/31/22 at 8:57 am to
quote:

Also this surprisingly works like a charm.

How's that work when you wake up in the middle of the night though? Wouldn't that completely restart the cycles, so that website only holds true if you fall asleep and stay asleep all night?
Posted by MonroeTigerstripes
Member since Jul 2016
564 posts
Posted on 11/1/22 at 8:50 pm to
The only sleep aid that does not make me groggy is Om mushroom superfood sleep aid (it’s a purple and white bottle). I’ve tried many different kinds. This is the only aid that has helped me fall asleep and stay sleepy/fall back asleep if I wake in the middle of the night.
This post was edited on 11/1/22 at 8:51 pm
Posted by lattin1
baton rouge
Member since May 2014
328 posts
Posted on 11/1/22 at 8:51 pm to
5-7 hours
Posted by StringedInstruments
Member since Oct 2013
20542 posts
Posted on 11/4/22 at 5:17 am to
7-7.5 hours and I feel like a god.

Unfortunately, I typically wake up on my own at the 6-6.5 hour mark. I don’t feel tired in the mornings. In fact, I feel pretty awesome. But by the early evening, I’ve run out of steam.
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